Autumn

Well, it's now officially autumn here in Glasgow. It's light at 7 am and dusk at 4:30. Today was an almost perfect autumn day. The weather channel web site said it was supposed to rain, but I was extremely glad to see that it was wrong. The sky was a gorgeous blue and the air was crisp as I walked down Hyndland road to our staff meeting place. I think autumn is definately my favorite season of the year, but I can't tell you why. One of my friends would say that I express my emotions through music and the seasons, but I'm not entirely sure. I think the part of me that enjoys poetry enjoys the melancholiness (is that a word?) of autumn. I enjoy the happy sadness of walking down the streets as golden trees drip their leaves to the pavement. Part of me enjoys the diminishing daylight and the knowledge that I can go home and have a hot drink and enjoy a nice dinner (when I cook ;-)). I also love the crisp air as it goes through my lungs, autumn mornings are the best, though afternoons are really nice too.
There's another side to autumn though. My spiritual life takes on nuances as the season turns. It's almost as if I slow down, even though I feel guilty for it. I was thinking about it earlier today. Now, I have have never been to Israel, and only a very small part of the Mediterranean world that Paul would have been familiar with. However, in my mind, Israel has always been this desert place. I never could imagine it having trees or much foliage. I always imagined it like some old '60s western. You know, the ones in which the cowboy rides into this town in the middle of the desert and we are asked to believe that a place like this can sustain life. I always wondered where these towns got their food and water, was it all shipped in by the railroad? Well, I'm digressing. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I was thinking about whether God understands autumn. Now, I know that sounds foolish, and it is. It comes down to remembering that God is working here and now, and that He created this season, that it's part of His world. Anyway, I'm rambling and I think I lost the point. So, don't take any of this as any more than me pondering online.

St. Andrews

So Laura and I decided to skip town on my half day off - friday, and we headed up to St. Andrews. It was a fantastic trip! We passed near the place where she used to work (I don't know how to spell it, so I won't try) and we pulled off at this gorge. It was amazingly beautiful! It was so great to get out of the city. My inner history geek came alive as we approached St. Andrews. St. Andrews was the center for Christianity through much of the latter Medieval period. It is full of old walls and gatehouses. She was insane and let me drive, and it was cool to drive through a gatehouse that people most likely walked through 700 years ago. While in St. Andrews we toured the castle. On the grounds is this old mine/countermine that attackers dug in order to undermine/collapse the walls of the castle. The defenders dug a countermine and met the attackers and killed them. The countermine had been dug very hastily and it was narrow and twisting and dark. I could easily imagine the men's fear and fervor as they dug and what it must have felt like to the attackers when all of a sudden they were face to face with the defense. We didn't play golf, but we did pass the golf course. We ended up enjoying fish and listening to the waves. All in all, a fun day.

Building

Hey y'all! The building we were meeting in is for sale. We are putting a bid in and all bids are due in by this friday at noon. Please pray with us that God will move amazingly and give us the building!

Conceited Toad, conceited....me

Well, for book group this week we chose to read "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. It's wonderful little children's book written in the early 20th century with 4 main characters: Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. It follows these animals through the different seasons of the year and their adventures together. One of the main points of conflict in the book is around the character Toad. Toad loves new things. He's an animal with plenty of time on his hands and plenty of money to spare. One day he sees a "motorcar" and is instantly enamored - even though it almost kills him. This addiction ends up landing him in prison after he steals one. Many people feel sorry for him and he ends up escaping and getting away. However, he never seems to be able to remember who it was that actually helped him out of his travails. After escaping from prison, he runs into many people and accidents that seem to work out in his favor. One such is that he steals a horse and runs across a gypsy who is very willing to deal with him. Toad comes off 6 shillings richer and starts singing this absolutely funny (in context), yet horrific song. Some of the lines go like this: "The world has held great Heroes, as history books have showed [sic]; but never a name to go down to fame compared with that of Toad! The clever men at Oxford know all that there is to be knowed [sic]. But But they none of them know one half as much as intelligent Mr. Toad!." Now let me put this in context: Toad has just barely escaped from the police. He manages to then get thrown off of a barge. The song is complete rubbish. It honestly reminded me of two things. One thing that stood out to me was the stark contrast between this song and the song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15: "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea." It also reminded me of Nebuchadnezzar. He had been warned by God to not be proud of his kingdom. However, one day on the battlements he starts to think what a great king he is and how magnificent a kingdom he has built for himself. God instantly turns him crazy for seven years until he learns to worship the True King. Lastly, before I start to sound too self-righteous, it reminds me of myself. How many times have I forgotten God, or just paid God lipservice without meaning it, and gave all the credit to myself? I'm sure it's more then can ever be counted. All praise be to God, who alone is worthy of all worship!

Faithfulness

So God has been totally awesome and faithful! I needed to renew my visa in order to stay here in the UK. I sent it in in September, a month before it was to run out. It was sent back to me because my credit card hadn't cleared yet. I sent it back in after calling the bank and was praying hard that there wouldn't be any hassle and that it would be renewed. God, again why do I doubt Him, answered my prayers! Today in the mail I recieved my passport back with a 3 year visa to stay here! God is awesome and amazing!

Laura

Well - if you're wondering who that stunning woman is that I have my arm around, wonder no more dear friends. That would be Laura Macfarlane. I met her over a year ago at Partick Trinity Church. I had actually met her mum earlier on the first Christianity Explored I was involved in. She mentioned she had twin daughters, and since I only knew Fiona (Laura's twin sister) I had no idea who they were. I met Laura later at a weekend away and thought that she was her younger sister (oops!). Anyhow, I started praying about and pursuing her seriously earlier this summer and fall. When I (after much prayer and trembling) finally told her how I felt, I found to my great joy and excitement that she felt the same about me! And, as they say in the pictures, ...the rest is history.

Great is His faithfulness

So, it's been almost a month since I've posted, sorry. Three days after my new computer arrived, it started shutting down randomly. I took it into the shop, then they had to order a new logic board from Holland. That itself turned out to be backordered, so I've been playing a bit of a waiting game right now. I called today, and they said the part finally shipped, so, God willing, I'll have my laptop back by the end of this week.
So, about my title...
Well, today I was in Starbucks doing my Bible read-thru reading for this week. This week's reading was Genesis. Something I had heard before (but never seemed to come out in my reading) was God's faithfulness. However, this time through Genesis, I saw it everywhere! It was amazing how faithful God was to Abraham (even when he screwed up) and to all of Abraham's descendents. God would meet them all through dreams and other ways and would renew His covenant with them. I wonder if this stuck out because God is trying to say something to me?